The World’s Strongest Woman competition has been thrown into turmoil after American athlete Jammie Booker won the 2025 title, then lost it days later following disputes over eligibility.
Booker finished ahead of Britain’s Andrea Thompson in Arlington, Texas, over the weekend.
Footage from the medal ceremony showed Thompson stepping off the podium, appearing to say “this is bull****” as Booker celebrated.
Jammie Booker stripped of title after gender row
Several athletes and coaches claimed they believed Booker was, in their words, a “biological male.”
Organisers later confirmed they had removed Booker from the results and reassigned the standings.
In a statement, Official Strongman said: “All athlete points and places will be altered accordingly to ensure that the rightful places are allocated to each of the Women’s Open athletes.”
They added that officials only learned of Booker’s background after the event.
“Had we been aware, or had this been declared at any point before or during the competition, this athlete would not have been permitted to compete in the Women’s Open category.”
The organisation said its policy requires competitors to race in the category that matches the sex recorded at birth. “Official Strongman is inclusive,” the statement read, “but it is our responsibility to ensure fairness.”
World’s Strongest Woman winner stripped of title after organizers discovered she was born a man https://t.co/JsqSD9sjfM pic.twitter.com/96RI7GJDqq
— New York Post (@nypost) November 25, 2025
Athletes call for transparency
Three-time champion Rebecca Roberts issued a long statement on Instagram, stressing she holds “no hate toward transgender people” but believes women’s divisions “must remain biologically born female-only.”
She said competitors were not told anything before the event. “None of us knew. Not even the organisers knew,” she wrote.
“When fairness is taken by surprise, trust in the sport begins to crack.” Thompson liked the post shortly after it went live.
Thompson’s coach Laurence Shahlaei also backed her performance. He said she “absolutely dominated” key lifts and argued that “sport is sport and the women’s classes exist for a reason.”
Mitchell Hooper, the 2023 World’s Strongest Man, attended the event and supported Thompson’s win. “Congratulations on a champions performance,” he wrote.
Hooper later said in a video that Booker looked “three to four inches taller, and probably 80lbs heavier than her closest competitor.”
He added that people should live how they choose but “there is a time when you have to take a stand for women’s sports.”
No response from Jammie Booker
Details about Booker remain limited, though a 2017 YouTube video linked to her appears to describe her as a “21-year-old trans woman… struggling to stay true to herself.”
After the event, Booker posted an emotional message thanking competitors. “You are all insanely bad*** women,” she said. “It was an honor to even share the stage with you.”
She added that she “did not expect to win” and was “genuinely lost for words.”
Booker has not commented on the disqualification. Official Strongman said attempts to contact her were unsuccessful.
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